Folding stool



J. LEE

FOLDING STOOL Jan. 13, 1953 Filed NOV. 29 1950 O Flag.

. W 7 M 5 a. WE n a 2 n w /L H JW 6 am ,mma I 7 @L7 w .W IL m a a @MI 1 Patented `Ian. 13, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT GFF ICE FOLDING STOOI.'

J im Lee, New Yorli, l,\T. Y..y

Application November 29, 1950, Seriali l\1o..198;1'l'.5*-

Claiinsr (C1. 155-1501);

This invention relates togfolding. stools.

A primary object is to provide a stool of this type'having in side view the general outline of the letter X, the upright supporting members or legs being pivotally joined approximately midway their length and being spanned at their top by a cover or seat pivotally connected to one pair of the uprights or legs and arranged to be rigidly interlocked with the other pair of uprights whereby an unusually strong supporting construction is provided.

Another object is to provide a stool of this type in which the seat or cover folds into the framework of the upright supporting members in such a way as to be approximately flush with the latter when folded, this arrangement being such as to provide a snug fit between the seat or cover and parts of the supporting structure whereby the stool is held firmly in the folded position when the parts are collapsed together.

Still another object of my invention is to so shape and arrange the upper ends of a pair of the upright members, and a receiving seat therefor on the seat or cover of my improvement as to cause the weight supported by my invention to increase the interlock between the uprights and the cover member that spans the same.

Other objects and advantages of my improvement will appear from the accompanying drawings and the following description. In the drawings;

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention,

Figure 2 is a front elevation thereof,

Figure 3 is a side view of my improvement as it appears when folded,

Figure 4 is a plan view of my invention as it appears when folded, and

Figure 5 is a sectional detail taken on approximately the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

In the accompanying drawings the numeral 6 indicates the upright or supporting members of which there are four arranged in two pairs one pair being disposed within the other as shown best in Figure 2. These uprights are pivoted together at I about midway their length and are stoutly braced or anchored one to the other in pairs by the braces B and 9. The brace 9 is especially rugged to reinforce the anchorage between the two outer uprights as shown, particularly in Figure 1. 'Ihis arrangement provides an abutment or shoulder against which the seat or cover I0 snugly fits when the parts are folded as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4 and serves to hold the parts in the folded positions for convenient handling and storage. At their upper ends of the inner uprights are pivoted to a rugged seat or bearing Igl'arranged-on one-end ofthetop or cover I0 of my invention, while the upper: ends of the outer uprights are. beveled adjacent the brace-9 tov-mate with` the under side of they cover I Il in such a way as to cause the uprights to tend to spread under the force of the weight carried by my improved stool, this bevel being shown at I2 in Figures 1 and 3. Immediately below this bevel, and on the outer edge of the outer uprights I mount what I term an interlocking brace III which is arranged at an abrupt angle to the horizontal and mates with a similarly arranged or complementary seat on the inner surface of the abutment or bearing I5 rigidly mounted on that end of the cover or seat I0 which is opposite the pivot I I, usually called the front end of the cover. The arrangement is best shown in Figures 1 and 5. To anchor the parts in the service position, Figure 1, and hold them rmly together when no weight is resting on the top or cover III of my improvement, I mount a metal latch I6 in a bearing I'l positioned about midway the width of the seat I0. The latch is rotated behind the brace I4, which is preferably made of metal, and draws the parts into firm interlocked position with the brace I4 fitting tightly against its complementary seat on the abutment I5, Figures l and 5. To secure a friction interlock between the forward end of the cover or seat I8 and the rugged brace 9 of my invention, I provide a tight t between them when folded as shown particularly in Figures 3 and 4. 'I'his friction interlock holds the folded parts firmly together and thus conveniences transport of my improved stool and storage thereof.

The seat or cover I0 is preferably made of wood of sufficient stiffness not to bend unduly under the weight placed upon my improvement. This is desirable for the reason that the interlock between the seat II) and the abutment or bearing I5 is strengthened by the tendency of the uprights 6 to spread under the weight carried by my improved stool and thus cause the metal interlocking brace I4 to more tightly wedge under the abutment I5. My improvement provides a simple, rugged easily transportable folding stool that is easy to operate and convenient to store and which is safe against breakage under any reasonable weight placed upon it.

What I claim is:

1. A folding stool comprising two pairs of supporting members, means pivotably connecting one pair of said members to the other pairs of members intermediate the ends thereof, said pairs of members forming when in service position the general` outline of the letter X, a seat,

means pivotally mounting said seat at one end to the ends of a pair of said members, means forming an interlock between the other end of the seat and the ends of the other pair of members when the stool is in service position, said means forming an interlock including an abutment on said other end of said seat having an inclined surface, and an interlocking brace mounted on and connected to the said ends of the other pair of members and adapted to engage the inclined surface of said abutment, another brace alsc connecting the ends of the other pair of members, said last named brace being mounted adjacent the upper ends and on the oppositeV side of said members from said interlocking brace; said second named brace having an abutting surface adapted to frictionally engage the corresponding surface on said seat when in non-service position. said seat surface being parallel to the axis of said means pivotally mounting said seat to the ends of a pair of said members.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 in which fastening means is provided and is attached to REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 964,392 Cerrini July 12, 1910 1,023,671 Moore Apr. 16, 1912 1,289,245 Otte Dec. 31, 1918 1,295,073 Schwartz Feb. 18, 1919 FOREIGN PATENTS v Number Country Date 130,374 Switzerland July 1, 1929 

